TY - JOUR
T1 - Reflection height of daytime tweek atmospherics during the solar eclipse of 22 July 2009
AU - Ohya, Hiroyo
AU - Tsuchiya, Fuminori
AU - Nakata, Hiroyuki
AU - Shiokawa, Kazuo
AU - Miyoshi, Yoshizumi
AU - Yamashita, Kozo
AU - Takahashi, Yukihiro
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - We report multipoint observations of daytime tweek atmospherics during the solar eclipse of 22 July 2009. Sixteen and sixty-three tweek atmospherics were observed at Moshiri and Kagoshima, Japan, where the magnitudes of the solar eclipse were 0.458 and 0.966, respectively. This was the first observation of tweek atmospherics during a low-magnitude eclipse (0.458). The average and standard deviation of the reflection height were 94.9 13.7km at Moshiri and 87.2 12.9km at Kagoshima. The reflection height at Moshiri was almost the same as that for normal nighttime conditions in July (96.7 12.6km) in spite of the low magnitude of the eclipse. The reflection height at Kagoshima seems be divided into two parts: propagation across the total solar eclipse path and propagation in the partial solar eclipse path. During the eclipse, we also observed the phase variation in the LF transmitter signals. The average change in the phase delay of the LF signals was 109 for the paths that crossed the eclipse path and 27 for the paths that did not cross the eclipse path. Assuming a normal daytime height for LF waves of 65km, a ray tracing analysis indicates that the variations in phase correspond to a height increase of 5-6km for the paths across the eclipse and 1-2km for partial eclipse paths. The wide range of estimated tweek reflection heights at Kagoshima also suggests a difference in electron density in the lower ionosphere between total and partial solar eclipses.
AB - We report multipoint observations of daytime tweek atmospherics during the solar eclipse of 22 July 2009. Sixteen and sixty-three tweek atmospherics were observed at Moshiri and Kagoshima, Japan, where the magnitudes of the solar eclipse were 0.458 and 0.966, respectively. This was the first observation of tweek atmospherics during a low-magnitude eclipse (0.458). The average and standard deviation of the reflection height were 94.9 13.7km at Moshiri and 87.2 12.9km at Kagoshima. The reflection height at Moshiri was almost the same as that for normal nighttime conditions in July (96.7 12.6km) in spite of the low magnitude of the eclipse. The reflection height at Kagoshima seems be divided into two parts: propagation across the total solar eclipse path and propagation in the partial solar eclipse path. During the eclipse, we also observed the phase variation in the LF transmitter signals. The average change in the phase delay of the LF signals was 109 for the paths that crossed the eclipse path and 27 for the paths that did not cross the eclipse path. Assuming a normal daytime height for LF waves of 65km, a ray tracing analysis indicates that the variations in phase correspond to a height increase of 5-6km for the paths across the eclipse and 1-2km for partial eclipse paths. The wide range of estimated tweek reflection heights at Kagoshima also suggests a difference in electron density in the lower ionosphere between total and partial solar eclipses.
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U2 - 10.1029/2012JA018151
DO - 10.1029/2012JA018151
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84870212068
VL - 117
JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
SN - 2169-9380
IS - 11
M1 - A11310
ER -